Smartphones import in the country continues to grow, according to a report by the Daily Star. Mobile handsets market is one of the fastest growing markets in the country. However, back in 2012, the market was largely dominated by feature phones, but after 2014 Smartphones started to pick up and now accounts for a significant share of the total import value.
According to Bangladesh Mobile Phone Importers’ Association (BMPIA), smartphones import saw a staggering 57.44% rise in the first half, January to June, of 2016 compared to the same period last year. Around 35.71 lakh pieces of smartphones were imported during this period.
Smartphones also accounted for 26.35% of the total handset imports in the first half of 2016, up from 20.88% a year earlier. Total handsets import has also grown by 23.84% year-on-year to a staggering 1.35 crore handsets.
Players
Local brand Symphony dominates the segment in volume with its low-cost smartphones while Samsung leads in value. Symphony accounted for 43.8% of the total smartphones imported during the period where Samsung accounted for 18.8% during the same period. But Samsung suppressed Symphony in import value. The import value of the brand was 34% of total import compared to Symphony's 30.3%.
Walton, another local brand, accounted for 9% of the smartphones import volume in the first half, followed by Indian brand Lava 6.2% and Chinese manufacturers Huawei and Oppo 5.3 percent and 3.5 percent respectively, and other brands 13.4 percent.
